Lesotho Map

 

 

          Southern Africa Map

latest picture: April 15, 2015

• click a picture to see details

001  On April 7th, 2015, we enter the

Kingdom of Lesotho at the ”Van Rooyens

Gate“ in Wepener. The country with two

million people is entirely surrounded by

South Africa and covers an area of 11’720

sq.mi. [30‘000km²]. It is also known as

”Kingdom in the Sky“ as the entire country

lies 4’600 ft. [1’400m] above sea level

002  The approach to the Malealea Lodge

in the interior leads us during the last

4½ miles [7km] deeper and deeper

into a wide mountain valley

with impressive views …..

003  ….. and past the peaceful little

village of Malealea that nestles between

cornfields and the mountain ranges

004  At the gates of the Malealea Lodge,

some locals have set up a little ”market“

hoping that tourists are in buying mood

005  A blue LandCruiser and a blue Iveco

at the Malealea Lodge Camping. Julie and

Marcus from England (Tucks‘ Travels)

explored Southern Africa with their Iveco

truck. Next is Europe and South America

006  Local singers entertain the tourist

groups at the Malealea Lodge

The walls of the restaurant and bar at the Malealea Lodge are painted with nostalgic traditional motifs,

bringing us the simple way of life of the Basotho people closer

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010  The old man with his outstanding

headdress poses proudly behind our

LandCruiser for a picture

011  Like in the old days people meet at

the Matebele Cafe between the Malealea

Lodge and the ”Gate of Paradise“ Pass.

It is the only cafe far and wide

012  The herdsman probably cannot

understand why we take a picture of

this dilapidated sign. We are a bit

surprised to read the distances to

some world cities in this remote place

013  Our LandCruiser tackles the last yards

to the 6’565 ft. [2’001m] high ”Gate of

Paradise“ Pass leaving behind the glorious

scenery of the Thaba Putsoa mountain range

014  Tall sisal agaves (Agave sisalana)

rise towards the sky. The plant grows up

to 20 ft. [6m] and blooms only once

015  Our LandCruiser reaches the ”Gate

of Paradise“ Pass on an altitude of 6’565 ft.

[2’001m]. The tarmac ends here and the

washed out dirt track starts

016  A general store in the countryside

of Matelile. It is the place where people

meet, stock up their supplies, do some

trade and exchange the latest gossip.

It’s bustling of activities

017  A blanked clad horseman with his

conical shaped hat makes some dancing

moves while spotting us. The Basotho

hat is the symbol of the country

018  Three lovely thatched rondavels

overlook the plain and the mountains

019  About 15 miles [23km] east of the

capital Maseru the road splits at the sand-

stone formation of Saint Michaels: Either

over the passes of the central Highlands or

via Roma towards the south at Qacha’s Nek

020  Next to an imposing sandstone rock

at the begin of the Roma Valley, the little

mission church of Saint Michaels nestles

between two stately trees

021  The scenery at the Ramabanta Trading

Post Lodge in Nkesi, about halfway between

Roma and Semonkong at the Makhaleng

River, reveals some of the wild beauty of the

”Kingdom in the Sky“, as Lesotho is also called

022  A small settlement near Nyakosoba

at the foot of the southern foothills of the

Maloti Mountains

023  The ascent near Ramabanta is a

remarkable feat of Chinese engineering.

It's the longest and steepest in Lesotho

although it’s paved

024  At the Ramabanta Trading Post

Lodge, hidden deep in the mountains,

we camp with beautiful views to

Lesotho’s alpine world

025  The mid-morning sunlight underlines

the imposing Thaba Putsoa mountain ranges

in all its beauty – on the way from Ramabanta

to Semonkong – seen towards the north

026  A cluster of thatched houses built from

natural stones with adjacent kraals on the slope

of a hill along the road to Semonkong

027  The blue ribbon of the Maletsunyane

River flows through the pristine beauty of

the Lesotho highlands

028  The three traditional Basotho huts

are built in the rondavel style and

with local materials

029  Is there a more peaceful setting?

A small settlement at the edge of the

Maletsunyane Falls canyon

030  Despite of the new tarmac roads built

by China, life on Lesotho’s highlands is still

genuine and tranquil and takes its course

as it has for decades, if not centuries

031  The washed out, rutted and stony 4x4

track starts, which our LandCruiser will have

to tackle for the next 5 miles [8.1km] from

Semonkong to the Maletsunyane Falls. It forks

off before the bridge over the same-named river

032  Off we go! .....

033  ….. only a couple of more strenuous

yards, then the two seniors have braved

the difficult 4x4 ride!

034  The Maletsunyane fall near Semonkong

is 6’300 ft. [192m] high and in the “Guinness

Book of Records” for ”the highest

commercially operated abseil in the world“

035  At the Maletsunyane fall we park on

open land with the backdrop of some

thatched huts nestling on the slope

036  Panorama from the view point over

the impressive Maletsunyane canyon in the

Maletsunyane valley near Semonkong

037  At the village square in Semonkong it is

teeming with horses that transport the heavy

bags with corn flour to the outlying huts

038  The Maletsunyane canyon landscape

near Semonkong – downstream

039  Bushes with short-stalked white flowers

– so called white moos (Leucobryum) –

cover big areas on the highlands

040  A man is loading his donkey.

Donkeys are still used for transports

of any kind. Trading still takes place

as in the ”Good old Days“

041  Highly loaded with grass and

scrub, donkeys head homewards

042  Basotho horsemen nowadays prefer

the new tarmac road, built in 2014 towards

the south till Qacha’s Nek, instead of the

difficult mountain terrain

043  Delicate pink flowers of the sage

family (Salvia) add some color to the

rocky scenery

044  Our feathered neighbor, a hadada ibis

(Bostrychia hagedash), is snoozing on a tree

at the “Trading Post Guest House” in Roma.

These ibises feed mainly on earthworms and

other larger insects on the ground and are

therefore particularly welcomed on golf greens

045  A prickly pear cactus (Opuntia

ficus-indica) with a single fruit grows

in the rugged area of the highland

046  Patches of pink-colored cosmos

flowers (Cosmos bipinnatus) gleam

against the dark Maloti Mountains that

rise steeply to over 11’424 ft. [3’482m]

047  Below us the Makhaleng valley

opens up in its wild beauty

048  A floral splendor: Carpets of pink-

colored cosmos flowers (Cosmos

bipinnatus) cover the plain in autumn

On the ”Roof of Africa“ – between Maseru and Thaba-Tseka – we cross in less

than an hour three mountain passes, all over 7’425 ft. [2‘263m] altitude:

049  At 11.59am the ”Bushmen’s Pass“

at 7’425 ft. [2263m] altitude

050  At 12.27pm the ”God Help Me Pass“

at 7’484 ft. [2’281m] altitude

051  At 12.52pm the ”Blue Mountain Pass“

at 8’638 ft. [2’633m] altitude

052  The herdsman in his typical traditional

outfit – particularly his hat – at the ”Blue

Mountain Pass“

053  A white long-hair angora goat is warming

up on a boulder. It’s delivering the mohair

fabric, the specifically lightest textile fiber

054  A little alpine brook trickles shortly

on the surface and then disappears again

below the rugged mountain terrain

055  Formed by the course of a clear

water stream, a little island has emerged

in the alpine grassland – shortly before

Likalaneng at the Mohale dam

056  The small settlement Likalaneng

(Ha Mohale) was built to house the people

for the construction of the Mohale Dam

057  The road winds in a serpentine line

past green pasture and small settlements

towards the Mohale Dam – here about

2½ miles before the same-named place

058  The first glimpse of the Mohale

dam, embedded into fantastic

mountain scenery, is promising …..

059  ….. the second glimpse, with the

background of the Maloti Moutains,

captivates us immediately. It shows more of

its beauty, its calmness and serenity …..

060  ….. and the third glimpse is from its

shore: Emil admiring the Mohale dam

061  Mohale Dam and its overspilling.

The 4’757 ft. [145m] high concrete-faced

rockfill dam is the highest of its kind in Africa.

It was built to increase the volume of water

to be delivered to South Africa

062  In Marakabei at the Senqunyane

River children hang out after school and

love to have their pictures taken

063  Toyota LandCruiser with the

exotic Lesotho license plate and the

symbolic hat on the left side

064  Poplars in their golden yellow

autumn color reflect picture-perfect in

the deep blue of the Senqunyane River

in Marakabei

065  The bridge over the Senqunyane River

in Marakabei was opened on April 19, 1956,

by the Resident Commissioner of Basutoland,

by then a British Crown colony

066  We are camping below the golden

autumn foliage in the garden of the

Marakabei Lodge at the Senqunyane River

on an altitude of 6’040 ft. [1’841m]

067  The wall painting at the Marakabei

Lodge shows a typical Lesotho resident

and his indispensable horse

068  Herdsmen are moving their sheep

on the street. In the eyes of the Basotho

people large herds signal wealth

069  A typical hut in the flowering highland

on a bend on the way to Thaba-Tseka.

From Roma to Thaba-Tseka there

are said to be 1’437 bends!

070  View from the ”Roof of the World“,

the 9’383 ft. [2’860m] high Mokhoabong

Pass, over the northeastern highland

071  A kind of procession marches

through a cornfield towards the road

072  The road is winding and descending

slowly from the highlands towards Thaba-

Tseka, where as part of the “Lesotho

Highlands Water Project” the new Mashai

Dam should emerge by the dammed

Senqu respectively Orange River

073  In the villages they have nowadays

also toilettes. The blue corrugated iron shacks

are in great numbers. They were constructed

by the „Lesotho Highlands Water Project“

to protect the reservoirs from contamination

074  Not a ”Grand Canyon“, but the

Malibamat'so River is still impressive. It is

dammed further north by the Katse Dam. Water

that isn’t directed straight to South Africa flows

near Thaba-Tseka into the Senqu/Orange River.

075  A village (also with new latrines)

between Thaba-Tseka and Katse dam.

Its inhabitants are pastoralists

and agriculturalists

076  A little settlement at the edge

of the Malibamat'so canyon

077  A butterfly sucks the nectar from

these short living highland daisy flowers

078  The blooming season is short in

the highlands. During this time, nature

awakes in its utmost beauty

079  Katse Dam was built within the ”Lesotho

Highland Water Project“ at 6’560 ft. [2‘000m]

above sea-level. It’s connected with a 19.9

mile [32km] long tunnel with the Mohale dam.

With its staggering 607 ft. [185m] high wall it

represents the highest dam in Africa …..

080  ….. it was officially inaugurated on

January 22, 1998 by King Letsie III and

President Nelson Mandela. The dam is not

only used to produce electricity but also to

deliver water to the South African province

of Gauteng (Johannesburg/Pretoria etc.)

081  Katse Dam is 607 ft. [185m] high,

2’329 ft. [710m] long, was finished 1996;

the reservoir contains 467.8 cu.mi.

[1’950km³] water and has a surface of

13.8 sq.mi. [35.8km²]; it’s part of the ”Lesotho

Highland Water Project“ of finally 5 dams

082  In front of the 607 ft. [185m] high

dam our LandCruiser looks shrinking small

083  A moment of absolute peace: Liliana

enjoys the serenity of the Katse Lake …..

084  ….. while Emil is busy with gasoline

jerrycans on the LandCruiser’s roof rack

The scenic beauty of Katse Lake that meanders for many miles through the rugged mountain scenery does not stop to marvel us

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088  The tarmac road meanders from

the 10’137 ft. [3’090m] high Mafika Lisiu

Pass endlessly westwards through

mountains and valleys

089  In the barren highland, a single flower

is all the more eye-catching: Presumably a

“member” of the buttercup respectively

crowfoot family (Ranunculaceae)

090  In the often rainy mountains and

cold highlands the cute rock hyrax (dassie)

(Procavia capensis) is enjoying the

warming sunrays

091  Only the ribbon of the tarmac road

interrupts the stunning mountain scenery –

here the descent from Mafika Lisiu Pass

to Pitseng

092  Our LandCruiser on the descent to

the valley from over 10’137 ft. [3’090m].

It deserves great praise. Without complaining

it made it through the steepest and highest

mountain passes

093  View from Pitseng over the basin,

where our 8-day-Lesotho journey

comes to an end

094  Laundry day at a mountain

stream near the city of Pitseng

095  Glorious evening mood over the

fantastic alpine world from our ”Aloes

Guesthouse“ camping in Pitseng

096  On our way to Caledonspoort, the border

village to South Africa near Botha-Bothe, we

drive along the Drakensberg mountains. We

leave Lesotho on April 15, 2015, having driven

488 miles [786km] in the ”Kingdom in the Sky“

 

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